For Movingand Relocation

DIY Tips to Fill Nail Holes in the Wall

Even the most cautious apartment residents know that it’s pretty easy to dent or puncture the walls in your home. Most of us have tons of nail holes that we’ll need to fill before moving out of the apartment. Before you rack up a huge fee (or worse, lose your security deposit!), try out a few of these DIY hacks to fill in nail holes in your wall. The good news? You can probably find most of these materials in your pantry or medicine cabinet, so scout out around the house before heading to the local hardware store.

Top DIY ways to fill in nail holes in the wall:

Toothpaste

White toothpaste is an absolute lifesaver – it’s cheap and chances are that you already have some in the medicine cabinet. Toothpaste works best for small holes in the wall, particularly because toothpaste tends to crack. To avoid cracking, crush up some aspirin into powder, and mix it with a bit of toothpaste to create a paste. Then, apply the toothpaste-aspirin mix to the wall and let dry as is.

Baking Soda Mix

It’s time to channel your inner chemistry skills for this one! If you don’t have any toothpaste on hand, mix up a bit of baking soda and white glue to fill in all the holes. It’ll create the thick consistency that you’ll need and will dry rock solid. From there, even the surface with a putty knife, and paint right over the area with a color that matches the rest of the wall.

Elmer’s Glue

If you have a smaller hole in the wall to fill, apply a bit of Elmer’s glue to the hole with a Q-tip. Try your best to get the layer of glue as flush with the wall as possible – once the glue hardens, you’d have to chip off the excess glue to create an even layer. From there, paint right over the area to create a uniform surface.

Ivory Soap

We’ll admit – this should be your last weapon of choice! If you only have a few moments before the landlord stops by, try the “Ivory Soap” method. Rub a bar of white Ivory Soap (or whatever color matches your wall) over the hole, and keep rubbing until the hole is completely filled in. Then, use a rag to wipe away all the excess soap.

The Right Way

Head over to the hardware store, and pick up a package of spackling paste, a putty knife, fine grit sandpaper, and some touch-up paint. To start, apply the spackling to the hole until it’s completely filled in. Next, use the putty knife to scrape away the excess putty, until the top layer of the putty is flush with the rest of the wall. Once everything is dry, sand down the area so that it’s level with the rest of the wall. Then, apply a bit of touch-up paint as needed.

With a few materials that you can find around the house and a bit of elbow grease, you can easily fill in nail holes as needed – and voila, good as new!